FCC Declares We Have the Right to Open Access to the Internet

The policies adopted by Comcast to deter large network usage is not foreign to most of us here at OCC, and many people fear the future of how ISP's operate. Consumers got a little relief today, however, when the FCC voted 3-2 that Comcast violated federal policy by blocking internet traffic for certain subscribers. The FCC did not assess a fine, but instead opted to simply order the company to stop interfering with large data transfers of customers using file-sharing software. Although file-sharing is often associated with piracy, many companies use file-sharing to distribute legitimate files, including such big names like Blizzard. This is a welcome decision by many of us, but there could be a potential downside; if ISP's can't regulate traffic, this may provide them even greater reason to start charging customers based on bandwidth usage, which none of us want.